Vincent Renaude

Vincent Renaude (died 1560) was a French mercenary general and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He was forced to join the Huguenots after Louis I of Bourbon, Prince de Conde held his son hostage, and he was executed for treason on the orders of King Francis II of France after being captured in the Siege of Fontainebleau.

Biography
Vincent Renaude was born in France to a Catholic family, and he made his wealth as a mercenary leader. He befriended Lord Stephane Narcisse, who gave him command of his private army. In 1560, on Narcisse's orders, he killed Mary, Queen of Scots' spy Ridley Collins in Le Havre and stole Mary's letters, which contained her plans to abandon France and instead reclaim Scotland for herself. Ironically, Mary and Louis I of Bourbon, Prince de Conde arranged for Renaude and his private army to accompany her to Scotland to defeat the rebellious Scottish Protestant lords and reimplement Catholic rule under Mary. Narcisse and Queen Catherine de Medici stalled the departure of Renaude's troops, but King Francis II of France agreed to send 2,000 French troops to Scotland instead. Catherine and Narcisse attempted to frame Conde when the Scottish Protestant rebels took hostages at a Catholic monastery, causing Conde to feel threatened by France; he met with Lord Akers and agreed to be wed to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Renaude captured Conde as he tried to flee France, but Akers rescued Conde and instructed him to raise a Protestant army to rebel against France with English aid. Conde then forced Renaude to join his army by using his son Bertraud as leverage, and Renaude was captured after launching an assault on Fontainebleau. Francis led a sortie and routed Conde's army, and Renaude was then hanged for treason, with his lover Kenna de Poitiers witnessing his death and promising not to forget him.